“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

This past Wednesday I had a very inspiring experience. I attended the Santa Fe city council meeting, which was the first city council meeting I’ve ever gone to. A friend had asked people to come and support a proposal to reduce the level of fluoride being added to city water. Since pure water is important to me, I decided to go. It turned out that there was a small but passionate crowd that had decided to attend.

The people who spoke seemed to be divided into two camps. The first consisted of several local dentists who work with low-income populations. They were strongly convinced that lowering the fluoride level in the water would put children in this group at further risk for dental disease. The second, larger group consisted of local residents who believe that ingesting fluoride is harmful. They had come to urge the city council to do more than was being proposed by discontinuing adding fluoride to the water altogether.

I listened to many people speak quite emotionally about why they believed their point of view was the correct one. Finally I decided to get up and contribute my thoughts. While I would like the city to discontinue fluoridation, what I focused on was that I didn’t think the two groups needed to view themselves as being in conflict. Obviously the dentists were very concerned about the wellbeing of their patients, and I think everyone could support that. Similarly, the people who seemed to be on the “other side” were simply voicing their desire for the wellbeing of city residents, too. What I urged the council members to do was to look beyond the debate of whether fluoridation was good or bad and to find other solutions that would support both groups. For example, if the money spent on fluoridation were spent on education and dental services for low-income groups, this might prove more effective than the present program for preventing tooth decay with fluoridated water, while still supporting those who don’t want chemicals that they consider toxic added to their water.

What happened next was quite surprising to me, and also very exciting. After hearing from the public, the council began their discussion. I was thinking that the most I could hope for would be that the council members would decide to approve the proposal for lowering the fluoridation level in the water and that, based on the opinions of people who spoke, would decide to eliminate the fluoridation at some future date. But that’s not what happened.

One longtime council member asked when the current fluoridation program had been implemented and was told it was initiated in 1955. She and other members began to reveal that they were not in favor of continuing to add fluoride to the water. Then a council member submitted an amendment to the proposal stating that no more fluoride would be added to the water. At this point, one of the council members and the mayor stated their opposition to the amendment, saying that they sided with the professionals (dentists) who felt this would create risk for the public. By now, I was starting to feel encouraged that the change I desired might actually occur. The tension between the two sides was palpable, and amplified by the applause that would break out when someone spoke in favor of a particular position.

At one point one of the council members favoring discontinuing fluoridation spoke about her memories of being a child in 1955, riding her stingray bike and following the cloud of DDT that was being sprayed to control mosquitoes because it was fun. Another council member recalled that in 1955 smoking was considered harmless and regularly included in TV shows such as “I Love Lucy.” I was really appreciating their human-ness and also struck by the similarity between their views and mine. Several talked about having researched this issue on their own and come to the conclusion that fluoridation of water wasn’t safe. I realized that I was surprised to find their point of view so similar to my own and, in that realization, saw that I have an assumption that politicians and people in public office aren’t going to support my values and choices. Witnessing their process helped me to release that prejudice.

Finally the vote was taken. By now the suspense was quite high, and my friend and I both sat and counted on our fingers as the votes were called out. Six council members voted in favor of discontinuing fluoridation and one voted against. I was elated and a little bit in shock. The outcome was better than I thought was possible.

The final addendum was that one of the council members suggested that the money that was now freed up be earmarked for one of the local dental clinics that works specifically with low income patients.

I went home on a cloud, feeling like I’d participated in a moment of history being made and higher consciousness breaking through. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears that change is possible. And I contributed in my own, perhaps small, way to creating the world that I want to have.

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Copyright 2012 Mercedes Kirkel, http://www.mercedeskirkel.com, All Rights Reserved. Please copy and share this article as long as it is shared in its entirety and the information is not altered, excerpted, or added to; credit of authorship and my website address (www.mercedeskirkel.com) is included; and no money is exchanged. For any other uses, please contact Mercedes Kirkel to obtain permission. Thank you.

Mercedes Kirkel is a channel and spiritual guide, bringing forth messages and instruction from Mary Magdalene and other Beings of Light, as well as Akashic Record Readings. Her new book, Mary Magdalene Beckons: Join the River of Love is available at www.marymagdalenebeckons.com. All messages and practices are universal and are not affiliated with any religion.

To receive ongoing messages from Mary Magdalene and other Beings of Light through Mercedes, go to www.mercedeskirkel.com and request to be added to the mailing list.

Mercedes offers workshops and private sessions in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is available in-person or long distance (by phone and skype), or to travel to your location. For more information, go to www.mercedeskirkel.com.